Blog #1: Alfalfa in the Summer?

You hear so many things about feeding alfalfa in the summertime, but is there really any harm?

Personally, I dont see a problem with this in moderation and fed properly. Everything is almost okay in moderation, but do we really know if this is right for our animal or not?

You hear the century old myth of alfalfa makes your horse hot, but working in the field i’ve heard from many Veterinarians that this is a myth. Only if fed properly. Alfalfa provides a significant number of calories but significant calories in any form can be harmful if not done properly. What comes with feeding your horse this amount of calories also comes the right amount of exercise to burn the right number of calories to balance their caloric intake but also maintaining basic health. Horses are athletes, treat them as such. Horses can colic from almost anything, is it really the alfalfa causing this? Im not sure, but, in my opinion the heat is more the problem than what they’re eating. I have had many horses colic in my time riding and none of them were actively on alfalfa at the time the colic occurred. Most horses I have had colic we’ve learned has been most likely from the stress of traveling to horse shows and being in a hot trailer.

Most of my horses were active athletes that were being ridden almost everyday. They had correct muscle tone and never struggled with mainting their weight, therefore I never fed alfalfa. I also kept my horses in Kentucky where the grass is arguably the best in the nation. Most of my horses struggled with losing weight instead of gaining it. In this case I believe alfalfa is wrong, better put, not fit for their diet. One of my horses, Cinnamon, who was a large quarter horse lived in a muzzle and gained weight by honestly just breathing. She ate a high protein, low calorie grain to keep her weight maintained and I would never in a million years dream of feeding her alfalfa. She was receiving the right nutrients for her to healthly function.

Alfalfa itself is a great way to provide your horse energy and protien and is recommended to be fed daily for horses that struggle to keep on weight. I forget how beneficial it can be for many horses that lack the ability to gain weight.

I have also heard that some people even believe that alfalfa can lead to laminitis, again if too much is fed. Understanding horse diets is hard and really a concept I hope to master if I get accepted to Vet School.

Overall my opinion sways that alfalfa can be beneficial but always in moderation, and is not for some horses. I am not a Veterinarian, this is just my personal opinion!

Discuss your opinion below!